Barcelona to L’Escala

Out of our way, from Barcelona to L’Escala, we visited the Montserrat Monastery.  It is way, way, way up in the mountains of Montserrat (serrated mountains).  It is considered Catalonia’s (one of the largest provinces of Spain) holiest place and we arrived during the week that the Pope was visiting Spain so it was super-duper holy that day.  The drive up the winding mountain roads is not for the faint of heart or motion challenged…Devin seems to be growing out of his motion sickness while I barely survived.

The setting is extraordinary – the buildings appear to be carved out of or into the mountain that soars 1,236 m above.  The original chapel dates back to the 9^th century but the history goes even further to AD 50 when it is said that the small wooden statue of La Moreneta (the dark one or the virgin of Montserrat) was made by St Luke and brought to here by St Peter and hidden in a cave to keep it safe from enemies.  The statue sits behind the alter, at the top of the Cathedral and the line up to touch it was 4 hours long… (super-duper holy week after all)….we opted to just visit the cathedral and we were lucky as a service was about to begin and we listened to the choir sing some beautiful pieces in languages we didn’t understand. 

The acoustics in this place are incredible.  I’m pretty sure Calvin would sound good singing in here.  We didn’t last through the entire service (Catholic Church having a 90 minute Friday afternoon service) and we ventured outside to explore the grounds.  We happened upon a large group of youth who had travelled from all parts of Europe to hear the Pope speak in Madrid. 

                         

I’m not sure if this was a ‘flash mob’ but the group suddenly formed a circle and two guys playing bongos, two more on guitar and a nun dancing in circles with a flute started playing while the group of 100+ started to dance in a circle….performing choreographed moves to various hymns. We watched four or five numbers before we started to make our way down the hill. Back in the car we headed to our next destination, L’Escala in the Costa Brava area.

We have been putting in some long hours in the car but the boys don’t mind if we keep it to a maximum of five hours per day which should be rare.  They have found many ways to keep themselves busy including the odd scrap but mostly, they are getting along extremely well and we feel so lucky.  They’ve even managed to create a bit of a curtain so they can have some privacy during the longer drives.

Once again we are sharing a villa with our good friends Jay, Monique and kids.  L’Escala is an untouched or was it unspoiled Spanish fishing village with white sandy beaches and is home to one of the world’s largest suppliers of anchovies…..or is it.   OK, so the internet does not always say it as it is.  Most of the Costa Brava has been overrun by tourists primarily from France and the UK…now, we have nothing against the French or the Brits but when you are searching (literally, searching) for authentic experiences of Spain, you will likely not begin in L’Escala.  Now, it is quite beautiful and there are plenty of great beaches but you do need to get to most of them early to get a towels length of space.  I’m sure, before the tourist boom, this sleepy town was primarily Spanish and a great producer of wine, olives and a successful fishing port. It is still one of the world’s largest anchovy suppliers - L’ESCALA ANCHOVIES. 

We bought a jar but I haven’t opened them yet so stay tuned for the review because I do love ANCHOVIES. Costa Brava translated is rugged coast and that it is. It has a very beautiful coastline with many curves and coves to explore. Villa Alicia (every home has a name – I like that) has enough room for all 9 of us to be comfortable a nice pool, ping pong and  pool table so that during the hottest hours, the kids have lots to keep them occupied.

The first night we arrived, Jay and Calvin took the garbage out at about 10:00 pm.   I suppose a scent of freedom wafted through the air and they decided to find the beach (in the dark) because the owner of the house said it was an 8 minute walk from where we are staying.  Turns out, the beach is more like 20 minutes by foot. The 8 minute walk likely existed via the cow path that once connected our neighbourhood to the fishing port…now, it’s a gnarly web of streets built haphazardly and without any sign of planning.  The boys, without water, watch, cell phone or GPS and just enough money for exactly two beers made it to the beach eventually.  I believe they were likely distracted by the ‘tourists’ as they completely (and I mean no freakin’ clue) forgot their route home.  They wandered the streets for a few hours asking everyone if they knew of our street ‘Canaloops’ which is home to approximately 12 homes in a town of 30,000.   Surprisingly, no one had any idea where they lived or how to get them home.  The speed of growth of the town was not equalled by the growth of the necessary infrastructure and funny enough (for me, not them) there was no taxi service.  Finally, they found a bar with internet access and a laptop and even the three locals that attempted to find the street gave up and drove them home around 1:00am.  They were exhausted and dehydrated – they downed a beer each in 10 seconds.  Pretty funny stories of wandering dark allies and peaking over fences and we all went to bed after a good laugh.  I thought ‘it might be one of those- went out for cigarettes and never came back’- but not so. Mo and I thought ‘oh those boys found a bar and are having a couple of beers ...rascals!’ I suppose it’s time to lower our expectations of them.   

Most days have been spent swimming and relaxing by the pool. We are making our own dinners and they have been fantastic. Everything tastes great cooked over charcoal on the BBQ. ..Except Jay and Calvin’s attempt at grilled calamari, a little rubbery and chewy. There is a small croissanteria just down the road that Calvin and I have been frequenting in the mornings. Before any of the kids get up we have been walking to the shop, (don’t forget Jay & Mo are home too) which at 8:30 has had line-ups for the fresh croissants that come out of the oven right on to your plate in seconds. The croissants are chocolate, cream filled, ham and cheese stuffed.  They also have some killer almond sticks, and fresh baguettes. My favourite are just good ole buttery plain croissants. We sit at the outdoor tables and enjoy our café con leche and treat before walking back with fresh bread for the day and croissants for the rest of the gang.

Our first excursion from L’Escala was to the Roman Ruins in Empuries, just 3 kms from our villa.  It sits on a beautiful stretch of beach. The site was occupied by both the Romans and Greeks and is very well preserved.  The Greeks built down by the water while the Romans built on the top of the hill.  The ruins date back to the 7^th and 3^rd centuries B.C. This settlement was the first one that the Romans built in Spain and the Greeks used it for a trading port calling it Emporion (emporium) meaning trading place. It was a very hot day and of course the ruins are all outside so we walked through at a steady pace.

  

Luckily there was also a museum that was air conditioned and we spent more time viewing the artifacts. After many water breaks we found some shade and ate our lunch that we had packed. The beach at Empuries is quite beautiful so we had brought our bathing suits (except me) and headed there after lunch. All the boys (and Neeku) swam over to the rocks to explore but found that the rocks were very sharp so those that didn’t wear sandals had some cuts on their feet. Mo and I sat on the beach and people watched. Since I forgot my bathing suit I sunbathed in my underwear. I figured since most sunbathe topless what’s the big deal? It apparently was a big deal to my kids when they got back from exploring…not cool, Mom!   There were plenty of topless ladies of all sizes and shapes but Calvin and Jay picked out a spot directly between two groups of topless young ladies – I wondered why they walked so briskly to the beach….there was one bottomless lady that took us by surprise.